I like the way you ended that
song, Matt. I'm so thankful for the scripture. I am going to
attempt to preach upon this subject. I'm going to attempt to preach
on this subject, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now you can
know whether or not you have received and experienced the
baptism of the Holy Spirit. And I know there is no salvation
if one has not been baptized by the Holy Spirit. Now what
does that mean? In verse 6, and John was clothed
with camel's hair and with a girdle of skin about his loins. Now,
this is because he typifies Elijah. He came in the spirit and power
of Elijah. And you read in 2 Kings 1 that
this is the way Elijah dressed. And he was out in the wilderness
in a loincloth. And people came out to hear him
preach. And we read that he did eat locusts and wild honey. There's differing opinions as
to what the locusts are. Some think it was some form of
flower. Some think it was the insect that would swarm and wild
honey. But what that certainly tells
us is he was a man who was not interested in the dainties of
this world, was he? Not at all. Let me show you what
the Lord said about this man in Matthew chapter 7 verse 7.
And as they departed, Jesus began to say into the multitudes concerning
John. What went you out to see in the
wilderness? A reed, shaken with the wind, somebody who could
be driven backward and forward by the opinions of men. But what
went you out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment,
expensive clothing, Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in
kings' houses. But what wait ye out for to see?
A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more
than a prophet, for this is he of whom it is written, Behold,
I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy
way before thee. Verily I say unto you, among
them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater
than John the Baptist. Notwithstanding, He that is least
in the kingdom of heaven. Who became least in the kingdom
of heaven? Christ Jesus, the Lord. When he was made sin, he
became least. He's greater than John the Baptist.
Yes, John the Baptist is a great man, but he can't be compared
with Christ, can he? Let's go on reading. And he preached. Saying, there cometh one mightier
than I after me, the lachet of whose shoes I am not worthy to
stoop down and unloose. He preached concerning the infinite
greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you can't preach concerning
the infinite greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ without a conscious
awareness of your own unworthiness. I don't even deserve to untie
his shoe. And then he says in verse eight,
I indeed have baptized with water Now, I think it's interesting
that the translators of the King James Version did not translate
the word baptize. They did what's called a transliteration. They gave the English pronunciation
of the Greek word, baptizo, baptize. They didn't change it. Now, this
lets me know why too. None of them practiced baptism
by immersion. That's why they translated it
that way, because if they would have given a translation, it
would have read like this. I indeed have immersed you with
water. That's what baptism means. It
means to immerse. Now, I love the King James Version.
I do. I think it's the best version. As a matter of fact, anything
I read that's not the King James Version ends up irritating me
when I find something that I don't like. But the King James Version,
it's just a translation. I've heard of these people that
they have the King James only and they think the King James
is inspired. No, it's not, just because of
the way they do the word baptize. They didn't practice immersion,
so they didn't write immersion because it would have condemned
them. But baptism means Immersion. Now, he said, I have indeed immersed
you with water. Water baptism is symbolic. It
depicts union with Christ, but it's not a sacrament. Grace is
not conveyed through this. It's not a means of grace. Grace
doesn't come through being baptized. He said, I baptize you with water
and that's all it is. It's a symbol and nothing more.
But. He. Shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit, Matthew and
Luke's account says he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.
Now God the Holy Spirit, if you're a believer, you've been baptized
by God the Holy Spirit. And everything you experience
spiritually that's real is caused by him. The faith you have, He
worked it. The love you have for Christ,
He gave it. The sins you have of your own
sin and your need of Christ, He's the one who gave you this.
You wouldn't have it if it were not for God the Holy Spirit. Now all of us feel like we know
too little about God the Holy Spirit, and indeed we do. But
He is God. He's not an influence. He's not
a force. He is a person, the third person
of the blessed Trinity, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit,
and God the Son. God the Holy Spirit is the one
who gives us the new birth. If we're born again, and that's
really what baptism of the Spirit is, is being immersed into Christ. If we're born again, it's because
God the Holy Spirit gave us that new birth. God the Father elects,
God the Son redeems and gives us righteousness and God the
Holy Spirit regenerates us. Now turn with me for a moment
to John chapter three. Verse one, there was a man of
the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same
came to Jesus by night. Now I Suppose that he didn't
want at this time to be seen with the Lord Jesus Christ because
it could have messed his career up. He was a ruler among the
Jews and he comes at night when they can't find out. But I think
there's more to that word than that. He came in the night, the
night of his own soul. He was dark. He was in darkness. He had no understanding. And
he demonstrates that by what he says. The same came to Jesus
by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God. For no man can do these miracles
that thou doest, except God be with him. Now, let me remind
you, nobody ever had true faith because it's all a miracle. Never
happened. And Nicodemus at this time does
not have faith. He sees these miracles. He's
impressed. He believes God is enabling him
to do these things, but he doesn't have saving faith. Now look at
the Lord's answer to him. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
my marginal reading says from above, he cannot see the kingdom
of God. Nicodemus, you know nothing.
That's what he said. You know nothing. Except a man
be born again, he can't see, he can't understand, he can't
perceive anything regarding the kingdom of God. Verse four, Nicodemus
saith unto him, how can a man be born when he's old? Can he
enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus
answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born
of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God. Now when he's speaking of water, he's not talking about
water baptism. He's not saying when you go down
under the water and come back up, you're born again. The water
represents the word. Paul spoke in Ephesians chapter
five of the washing of the water by the word. The Lord said, now
are you clean through the word that I've spoken unto you? God
the Holy Spirit always uses the word. There's never a time when
someone is just, all of a sudden you're regenerated, and you didn't
really hear the word of God, you didn't really hear the gospel.
That doesn't happen. Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. God the Holy Spirit always uses
the Word. Being born again of water, the
Word, and of the Spirit. There's no new birth without
the Spirit. He's the one who gives it. Now let's go on reading,
verse six. That which is born of the flesh, what is it? It
can't rise above its nature, its flesh. But that which is
born of the Spirit, born of God the Holy Spirit, birthed by the
Spirit of God, fathered by the Spirit of God. The reason you
have life is the Spirit of God birthed you and gave you life. Now the reason you see Christ
as everything in salvation is because you've been given that
life. Marvel not that I say to you,
you must be born again. The wind blows where it wills,
You hear the sound there, but you can't tell whence it cometh
or whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit. This is speaking of the sovereignty
of God in giving life, the sovereignty of God the Holy Spirit. He's
sovereign the way God the Son and God the Father are. Now,
turn to John 16 for a moment. I love this passage of Scripture
with regard to what the Lord says about the Holy Spirit. I'd like you to follow along in John
16, beginning in verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth. It's expedient for you. It's necessary for you that I
go away. For if I go not away, the comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I'll send him
unto you. And when he has come, he will
reprove or convince, overwhelmingly convict, the world of these three
things. Of sin, of righteousness, and
of judgment. Of sin, because they believe
not on me. Now understand this. You've been
convicted of sin when you're made to see that you are unable
to believe. That's when you're convicted.
Faith is not something you choose, well, I'm going to choose to
believe. No, you don't. You've never even been convicted
of sin until you find out faith is out of your reach. All sin has this as its root,
unbelief. And when he convicts you, he
convicts you of the sin of unbelief. And next it says in verse 10
of righteousness, because I go to my father and you see me no
more. When God, the Holy Spirit convicts you, you wouldn't dare
try to come into God's presence in your own righteousness. You
know, the only righteousness there is, is the righteousness
of Jesus Christ that he brings to the father. And that's the
only righteousness you know anything about when God, the Holy Spirit
convicts you. And then he says in verse 11
of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged, you're
convinced when God the Holy Spirit teaches you that all judgment
took place on the cross. All judgment. The elect were
justified, the unbeliever was condemned, and Satan was judged
and cast out. You believe that when God the
Holy Spirit is your teacher. Now let's go on reading. I have
many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now.
How be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come. I love the way he's called the
spirit of truth. And all he uses is the truth. He will guide you
into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself. You know
a preacher that speaks a whole lot regarding the Holy Spirit
doesn't have the Holy Spirit. He doesn't. He speaks concerning
The Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit doesn't speak of himself. You
know, this entire charismatic movement with this emphasis on
the Holy Spirit, it's fraudulent and it's satanic. God, the Holy
Spirit, does not speak concerning himself. If you hear preaching
that's always talking about the work of the spirit and the spirit,
they don't know the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks of Christ
as he says here so clearly. Let's go on reading. He shall not speak of himself,
but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak. He will
show you things to come. How we already know the future.
On judgment day, I'm going to hear Him say to me, well done,
thou good and faithful servant, because of what Christ my Lord
has done for me and that I'm in Him. He's going to show you
the future. He shall glorify me. That's His
office. For He shall receive of mine
and show it unto you. And all things that the Father
hath are mine, therefore said I that He shall take of mine
and shall show it unto you. Now, John tells us he will baptize
you. The Lord Jesus Christ will baptize,
will immerse you in the Holy Spirit. Now, the scripture uses
this thing of baptism in two or three different ways. One,
there's the baptism of water. We all know what that is. John's
baptism, I baptize you with water. It's symbolic. It doesn't have
any saving efficacy. It doesn't bring grace with it,
but it's very important. It's the believer's public confession
of Christ. And then the Lord spoke of a
baptism that he had to experience. He said, I have a baptism to
be baptized with. And he said this after he'd already
gone through water baptism. He said, I have a baptism to
be baptized with. And how is my soul straightened
until it be accomplished? He knew he was going to be completely
immersed under the wrath of God. and surrounded by the wrath of
God. He was going to be cut off, and
he was going to be left to himself, and he was going to be forsaken,
and he was going to suffer the full equivalent of hell, something
no other man could do. And he said, how straightened
is my soul till it be accomplished. And do you remember when James and John's mom came up
and made a request to the Lord? I want my sons to sit on your
right hand and on your left. And the Lord said to them, are
you able to be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized with?
They said, we're up to the task. Yeah. They had no idea what they
were saying, but then the Lord, instead of rebuking them for
that arrogant, they had no idea what they meant. Instead of rebuking
him, the Lord said, you shall indeed be baptized with the baptism
I'm baptized with. You see, when Christ was baptized
into the wrath of God, I was too. And that's what that means. That's what baptism signifies.
Now, turn with me for a moment to Acts chapter 1. Acts chapter 1. Verse 4. and being assembled together
with them, the Lord Jesus, he commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,
which saith he, you've heard of me, for John truly baptized
you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost,
not many days hence. When therefore they were come
together, they asked him, saying, Lord, would thou at this time
restore again the kingdom to Israel? And you know, I think
it's interesting. Even after the resurrection, they still
looked at everything from a fleshly point of view. They were thinking
of Israel becoming a national power again, and them being the
top dogs in it. Even after all they'd seen, they
were still that fleshly thinking. And that sounds like anybody
you know. Verse seven. And he said unto
them, It is not for you to know the times and the seasons, which
the Father hath put in his own power, but you shall receive
power. after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall
be witnesses unto me. When you're baptized by God the
Holy Spirit with fire, you shall be witnesses unto me, both in
Jerusalem and in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the uttermost
parts of the earth. Now I think it's interesting,
he doesn't give us a textbook definition of what the baptism
of the Holy Spirit is, but he gives the evidence. He gives
the evidence, what is seen, what takes place. Now look in chapter
two. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all
with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound
from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. I guess it sounded like
a hurricane. I've heard it sound like a train coming through.
And it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire. Remember that
baptism in fire. And it sat upon each of them,
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now this is a part of what the
baptism of the Holy Spirit is. The preaching of the Gospel.
Now they were speaking in other languages, but it was still the
same message. Look in verse 11. Cretes and
Arabians, we do hear them speak. He'd given 17 different languages.
We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of
God. That's what they were preaching.
The wonderful works of God. They were preaching the Gospel.
And if you go on into Acts chapter 2, you'll find out when you hear
Peter preach on the day of Pentecost and that great sermon, there's
the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel that's
preached. And what a sermon that was. God
used that one message to bring 3,000 people to the saving knowledge
of Christ. 3,000 people were born of the
Spirit, born of God, made to believe. Now, that was the evidence
of his work in that place. Now, turn with me for a moment
to 1 Corinthians 12. I've got several scriptures I
want you to look at because the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the
Lord says that's what it is in this thing in Pentecost. I mean,
it's the Lord's word, but look what else the scripture says
about this baptism in the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians chapter
12, verse 13, four, by one spirit,
God, the Holy Spirit, We are all, every believer, every one
of God's elect, we are all baptized into one body, the body of the
Lord Jesus Christ. All believers, all the elect
were immersed by the Spirit of God into the body of Jesus Christ. Now this is something better
believed than understood. But what this is a reference
to is our union with the Lord Jesus Christ. When God, the Holy
Spirit, immersed me into Jesus Christ, I became one with Him. So that whatever He does or did
in His body, I do too. It's me doing it, and that's
what this thing of union with Christ. It's so close. It's so
real that whatever he did, I did. I've been immersed into the body
of Christ. And I love it when the Lord is speaking to John
the Baptist. He doesn't say, thus it becometh
me to fulfill all righteousness that is imputed to you. He says,
thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. When Jesus
Christ perfectly kept God's holy law, Every believer did as well. And that is our personal righteousness
before God. I was baptized by the Spirit
of God into Christ Jesus so that I'm so united to Him that what
He does, I literally do. Now, He also became so united
to me that my sin actually became His sin. Now you know and I know
that He never in His own body committed any sin. High, holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. He never sinned
in His own body. But on the cross, He took my
sin and He became guilty of my sin. God punished Him. He wasn't
punishing for somebody else's sins. My sins became His. And
the justice of God smote Him. Now that's how real this union
is for every believer. What I am, He was made to be
when He was made sin. That's how really He took my
place. And whatever He does, I do. Because every believer was baptized
by the Spirit into the body of Christ. And through this, of
Him, the Spirit of God, He's the one who put you in Christ
Jesus. You know where it says, of Him are you in Christ Jesus?
I usually think of that as God the Father, but it's God the
Son too. If the reason you're in Christ Jesus, the reason you've
been baptized into Him is because of God the Holy Spirit. And think
about this, when you think about believers, baptized, all of us
have been baptized into one body, you think of the true unity there
is between believers. It's not something that you have
to work up. It's not something that you have
to work toward. There is a true and genuine unity. You see, we
have the same nature. We have the same Savior. We have the same salvation. We
believe the same thing. Every believer believes that
Christ is all in salvation. There's a unity there. You don't
have to force it. It's there. The unity because
of being baptized into the one body. So when we're baptized
by the spirit, we're baptized into the body of Christ. And
that is our identity. That's our identity in him. That's it. That's my, that's
my identity. That's the identity of every
believer. What's your identity? Christ, simply being found in
him. That's all we want. Now look,
turn with me to Romans six, verse three. Know ye not that so many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ, now he's not talking about water
baptism here. He's talking about this baptism into Christ by God
in the Holy Spirit. Know ye not that so many of us
as were baptized or immersed into Jesus Christ, we were immersed
into his death. Therefore, we are buried with
him by baptism into death. You know what that means? When
Christ was put in that tomb, so was everybody he died for. We went right there with him. That like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, Ephesians 2 says
that We were quickened together with Him. When He was raised,
we were raised. That's how close this union is because we're baptized
into the Lord Jesus Christ. When He was raised up, we were
too. Even so, we also should walk
in newness of life. That's the walking in the Spirit.
Now, somebody says, well, we ought to walk just in a new way
and never sin again. I agree with that. We shouldn't.
But that's not what that's talking about. That's talking about this
newness of life, a life that was not there before. Raised
up in Him. Now, when He was raised, we were
raised together and sat with Him. He has raised us, made us
to sit together in heavenly places in Christ. And think about this.
As He's seated at the right hand of the Father right now, I am
too. Every believer is. That's how
secure you are. You can't get any more secure
than that. You are right there. He said in John chapter 17 verse
24, Father, I will that they whom you've given me be with
me where I am. Not where I will be. But where
I am, you know what that means? I'm always with Him. Whether
I feel it or not, I'm always with Him. Sometimes I don't feel
like I am. Sometimes I feel like He's far
away. Sometimes I feel the closeness. But whatever I feel, feelings
come, feelings go, feelings are deceiving. I am always with Him. Where else would anybody want
to be? Now turn to Galatians chapter
3. Galatians chapter three, verse 26. For you are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus, for as many as of you as have
been baptized into Christ. There it is again, immersed into
Christ. What do you do? You put on Christ. This is something that you consciously,
willingly do. You put on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the work of God that we
We're baptized into Christ and the evidence is that we knowingly,
willingly put on Christ. That's the fine linen, clean
and white. That's a garment. To her was granted, speaking
of the church, to her was granted that she should be arrayed in
fine linen, clean and white, this beautiful garment. This
is the righteousness of the saints. And this is the clothing that
every believer puts on. And having this clothing on,
all God sees is Jesus Christ. Look on verse 28. There's neither
Jew nor Greek, there's neither bond nor free, there's neither
male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be in Christ, then
are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Now,
I want to close with this thought. The evidence that you've been
baptized into Christ is you put on Christ. And you know, in every
doctrine in the New Testament, There's an Old Testament story
that illustrates what it means and how is it that one goes on
about putting on Christ. So turn with me in Genesis chapter
27. Genesis 27. Now, this is a story
of deceit. It's where Jacob made out to
be Esau so that he would get the birthright. But remember,
every passage of scripture is given to teach us something of
the gospel. And in this passage of scripture,
we learn what it means to put on Christ as your clothing. Verse one, and it came to pass
that when Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could
not see, he called Esau, remember that was his favorite, his eldest
son, and said unto him, my son, And he said unto him, behold,
here I am. And he said, behold, now I'm old, and I know not the
day of my death. Now therefore take, I pray thee,
thy weapons, and thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the
field, and take me some venison, and make me savory meat, such
as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul
may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard what Isaac
spake to Esau his son, and Esau went to the field to hunt for
venison and to bring it. And Rebekah said unto Jacob her
son, behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother saying,
bring me venison and make me savory meat that I may eat and
bless thee before the Lord before my death. Now, therefore, my
son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee,
do exactly what I say. Go now to the flock and fetch
me from these two kids of goats, and I'll make them savory meat
for thy father, such as he loveth. And thou shalt bring it to thy
father, that he may bless and eat, that he may bless thee before
his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah's mother,
behold, Esau, my brother is a hairy man. I'm a smooth man. My father
for adventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver,
and I shall bring a curse upon me, not a blessing. You know,
I can identify with this. You know, you hear the gospel
and you think, if I come, what if I'm found out to be a fraud,
a deceiver? I'm scared of this. I don't feel
any confidence in this. Scared to death. I don't see
how I can come into my father's presence like that. I'm afraid
I'll be found out. Verse 13. And his mother said unto him,
Upon me be thy curse, my son. Only obey my voice. Do exactly
what I say, and go and fetch them.' And he went and fetched
and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory meat
such as his father loved. And Rebekah took goodly raiment
of her eldest son Esau, which was with her in the house, and
put them upon Jacob, her younger son. And she put the skins of
the kids of the goats upon his hands and upon the smooth of
his neck. And she gave the savory meat and the bread wherever she
had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto
his father and said, my father, he said, here am I who art thou
my son. And Jacob said unto his father, I'm Esau. thy firstborn. I've done according
as thou badest me. Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat
of my venison that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son,
How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? He said,
Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto
Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel my son, whether
thou be my very son Esau or not. Evidently, Isaac was a little
bit suspicious. And Jacob went near unto Isaac
his father, and he felt him. And he said, the voice of Jacob's
voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned
him not, because his hands were hairy as his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. He had to
feel just like Esau. And for me to be blessed of God
and accepted of God, I'm going to have to feel to God. Just
like Christ. Verse. 23. Verse 24, he said, Are thou
my very son Esau? Are you really Esau? And he said,
I am. You know, the only answer that
we can answer to is Christ. I am. You say was like. This is to typify the gospel.
The only name I want to answer to is the answer of Christ. Let's go on reading. And he said,
bring it near to me and I will eat of my son's venison that
my soul may bless thee. He had to bring to the father
what the father loved. And he brought it near to him,
and he did eat, and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father
Isaac said unto him, come near now and kiss me, my son. And
he came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his
raiment." He had to smell like Esau, didn't he? He had to smell
just like him. This is the clothing he put on
that caused the father to accept him. And he blessed him and said,
See, the smell of my son is the smell of a field which the Lord
hath blessed. Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven and
the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine and let
people serve thee and nations bow down to thee. Be Lord over
thy brethren and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed
be everyone that cursed thee and blessed be everyone that
blessed thee. Now in this story of deceit. And that's what it is. It's a
story of deceit. Doesn't Jacob's name mean deceiver,
heel, supplanter? Do you find anything you can
identify with in this man? For him to be accepted by his
father, he had to bring that which his father loved, the righteousness
and merits of Christ. He had to feel just like his
brother. He had to smell just like his
brother. And he had to answer to his brother's
name. Art thou verily Esau? Yes, I am. When my name is called upon Judgment
Day, And I'm clothed in Christ. I put on Christ. Because I've
been baptized into Christ, I put on Christ. And when my name is
called upon judgment day, the Lord Jesus Christ is going
to answer for me. I'm here. As he is, So are we in this world. Now, if you have experienced
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I know this. If I have experienced
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and that's such a supernatural
thing to be given a new nature, to be given a holy nature, to
be given a heart that I did not have before. If I have experienced
this glorious work of God's grace, the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
I'm going to be just like old Jacob. The only way I can come
into God's presence is clothed in the Lord Jesus Christ. May
the Lord enable each one of us to do that. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for your
word. We thank you for your spirit. We thank you for your son. We
thank you how by amazing grace we've been immersed into his
body so that we're one with him. How we thank you for his sacrifice,
his atoning death that put away our sins. How we thank you for
his righteousness that makes us perfect in your sight. Lord,
give each person here the grace to believe your gospel. For Christ's
sake, in his name we pray. Amen.